One way of teaching a person to read is to associate a printed text with the spoken word and there have been many proposals to allow the learner to do this without a teacher by associating a printed text with a recording thereof and providing means for reproducing the recording. Many of these proposals have involved the use of single sheets or cards carrying the printed text and most have required complicated and expensive apparatus for reproducing the record of sound.
It has also been proposed to provide a manually-held pick-up device in the form of a wand passed along the magnetic strip to reproduce the sounds corresponding to the words on an associated line of printed text.
Until a certain amount of skill is obtained by practice, difficulty is experienced when the pick-up device is held in the hand in maintaining an even speed along the tape and a correct even pressure on the tape, both of which are necessary for good reproduction. Particularly with small children these initial difficulties are likely to discourage the user so that the device is discarded. Furthermore, the shape of a wand to be held in the hand is restricted so that it is difficult to vary its appearance so as to enhance the appeal of the device as a toy as well as an educational device. The efficiency of educational aids is greatly enhanced if the aid is presented as a toy or in an amusing or appealing manner.
An object of this invention is to provide an aid to the teaching of reading in which these difficulties are eliminated or greatly reduced.